9,710 research outputs found
GRAPEVINE: Grids about anything by Poisson's equation in a visually interactive networking environment
A proven 3-D multiple-block elliptic grid generator, designed to run in 'batch mode' on a supercomputer, is improved by the creation of a modern graphical user interface (GUI) running on a workstation. The two parts are connected in real time by a network. The resultant system offers a significant speedup in the process of preparing and formatting input data and the ability to watch the grid solution converge by replotting the grid at each iteration step. The result is a reduction in user time and CPU time required to generate the grid and an enhanced understanding of the elliptic solution process. This software system, called GRAPEVINE, is described, and certain observations are made concerning the creation of such software
Postbuckling behaviour of beams with discrete nonlinear restraints
A beam with nonlinearly ‐ elastic lateral restraints attached at discrete points along its span is investigated via analytical and numerical methods. Previous results for the critical moment and the deflected shape based on an eigenvalue analysis of a similar beam with linearly ‐ elastic restraints are discussed, along with a validation of these results against an equivalent finite element model and results from numerical continuation. A beam with nonlinearly ‐ elastic restraints is then analysed with treatments for both quadratic and cubic restraint force–displacement relationships being provided. After formulation of the potential energy functionals, the governing differential equations of the system are derived via the calculus of variations and appropriate boundary conditions are applied. The equations are then solved using the numerical continuation software AUTO ‐ 07p for a standard I ‐ section beam. The variation in elastic critical buckling moment with the linear component of the restraint stiffness is tracked via a two ‐ parameter numerical continuation, allowing determination of the stiffness values at which the critical buckling modes changes qualitatively. Using these stiffness values, subsequent analyses are conducted to examine the influence of the nonlinear component of the restraint stiffness, from which post ‐ buckling equilibrium paths and deformation modes are extracted. The results of these analyses are then compared with an equivalent Rayleigh–Ritz formulation whereby the displacement components are represented by Fourier series. Equilibrium equations are derived by minimizing the potential energy functional with respect to the amplitudes of the constituent harmonics of the Fourier series. The amplitudes are solved for in the post ‐ buckling range by AUTO ‐ O7p and equilibrium paths are produced and compared to the equivalent solutions of the differential equations, with good agreement observed
LIFE3: A predictive costing tool for digital collections
Predicting the costs of long-term digital preservation is a crucial yet complex task for even the largest repositories and institutions. For smaller projects and individual researchers faced with preservation requirements, the problem is even more overwhelming, as they lack the accumulated experience of the former. Yet being able to estimate future preservation costs is vital to answering a range of important questions for each. The LIFE (Life Cycle Information for E-Literature) project, which has just completed its third phase, helps institutions and researchers address these concerns, reducing the financial and preservation risks, and allowing decision makers to assess a range of options in order to achieve effective preservation while operating within financial restraints. The project is a collaboration between University College London (UCL), The British Library and the Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute (HATII) at the University of Glasgow. Funding has been supplied in the UK by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and the Research Information Network (RIN)
Transport, atom blockade and output coupling in a Tonks-Girardeau gas
Recent experiments have demonstrated how quantum-mechanical impurities can be
created within strongly correlated quantum gases and used to probe the
coherence properties of these systems [S. Palzer, C. Zipkes, C. Sias, and M.
K\"ohl, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 150601 (2009).]. Here we present a
phenomenological model to simulate such an output coupler for a Tonks-Girardeau
gas that shows qualitative agreement with the experimental results for atom
transport and output coupling. Our model allows us to explore nonequilibrium
transport phenomena in ultracold quantum gases and leads us to predict a regime
of atom blockade, where the impurity component becomes localized in the parent
cloud despite the presence of gravity. We show that this provides a stable
mixed-species quantum gas in the strongly correlated limit
Trigonal warping and Berry’s phase Npi in ABC-stacked multilayer graphene.
The electronic band structure of ABC-stacked multilayer graphene is studied within an effective mass approximation. The electron and hole bands touching at zero energy support chiral quasiparticles characterized by Berry’s phase Nπ for N-layers, generalizing the low-energy band structure of monolayer and bilayer graphene. We investigate the trigonal-warping deformation of the energy bands and show that the Lifshitz transition, in which the Fermi circle breaks up into separate parts at low energy, reflects Berry’s phase Nπ. It is particularly prominent in trilayers, N = 3, with the Fermi circle breaking into three parts at a relatively large energy that is related to next-nearestlayer coupling. For N = 3, we study the effects of electrostatic potentials which vary in the stacking direction, and find that a perpendicular electric field, as well as opening an energy gap, strongly enhances the trigonal-warping effect. In magnetic fields, the N = 3 Lifshitz transition is manifested as a coalescence of Landau levels into triply-degenerate levels
An LED-based Flasher System for VERITAS
We describe a flasher system designed for use in monitoring the gains of the
photomultiplier tubes used in the VERITAS gamma-ray telescopes. This system
uses blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) so it can be operated at much higher
rates than a traditional laser-based system. Calibration information can be
obtained with better statistical precision with reduced loss of observing time.
The LEDs are also much less expensive than a laser. The design features of the
new system are presented, along with measurements made with a prototype mounted
on one of the VERITAS telescopes.Comment: Accepted for publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in
Physics Research
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